Does your sales page need SEO? It’s complicated…

Sales page SEO isn’t something I hear SEO’ers OR copywriters talk about much. Maybe it’s because BoFu (bottom of the sales funnel) is where the action happens. Most of our SEO efforts are concentrated higher up the funnel….by this stage, we want readers to know our brand and be ready to invest in our offer.

Or maybe it’s that sales page conversations are (rightfully) focused on conversion rate optimization (CRO). After all, the primary function of a sales page is, well, to sell. It’s not to drive leads or convert cold traffic to warm traffic.

But I believe SEO plays a role at ALL stages in your customer journey, whether we like it or not. The simple fact is that your sales pages are indexable, which means customers may land on them from organic search. And that can have real ramifications for your marketing if you’re omitting SEO from the equation. 

So, when do you need to think about SEO for your sales pages? I’m giving you the skinny on when and how to SEO on your sales pages…so stay tuned.

The CliffsNotes

But first, let’s talk conversion funnel (ToFu, MoFu, and BoFU)

A conversion funnel (or sales funnel) is a series of steps your customers take from the first interaction through purchase. All potential customers will need several interactions with your brand; because we consumers like to feel good that the products and services we purchase are the right choice for us. We need that know/like/trust factor, the unshakable proof that we’ve invested our time and money into something and someone that is beneficial to us.

In order to lead your prospects through that journey from ‘I know I need this thing to solve a problem’ to ‘Yes, this is the right solution for me’, there are several predictable steps along the way AKA the sales funnel:

Top of the funnel (ToFu): Prospects first engage with your brand from a social post or an article. This ‘cold’ traffic is the first opportunity to appeal to your prospect and let them know why you’re worth a second (and third) look.

Middle of the funnel (MoFu): These prospects are ‘warm’ and are ready to take some small action or engagement. They may sign up for your email list, download a free resource from your site, or follow you on Instagram and begin engaging regularly with your content.

Bottom of the funnel (BoFu): Your prospects know your brand and are ready to make a decision about your products and services. Urgency and scarcity play bigger roles here in nudging your prospect toward action.

At each stage of the funnel, your prospects will find you through a variety of channels and methods: social media, Google, a direct link, email, article, etc. But as they move along your sales funnel, you’ll have more control over the narrative. You can market them more intentionally and nurture prospects through controlled spaces like email, private groups, or DMs. 

Conversion and buyer awareness

The other side of the coin to consider in your sales funnel is the level of buyer awareness and urgency. How well do they know your brand, and what information do they need to move into a higher stage of awareness and urgency for purchase? 

As prospects move from awareness (ToFu) > consideration (MoFu) > decision (BoFu), they are also becoming more sophisticated about your products, solutions, and brand. 

As a conversion-focused copywriter, I prefer the granularity of Copyhacker’s six stages of awareness because it illustrates that customer evolution well:

ToFu

• Unaware: Your prospect has no clue that your world exists yet, or that there are pains and problems in her life you can help solve.
• Problem aware: Ok, now she’s feeling the pain but doesn’t know yet that solutions exist to solve it.

MoFu

• Solution aware: Your prospect knows the solution she wants, but doesn’t yet know that your products can solve it.
• Product aware: Your prospect knows what you sell, but isn’t yet convinced it’s the right choice for her.

BoFu

• Most aware: Your prospect knows your product, and just wants to know ‘the deal’
• Most aware with high intent: Your prospect is ready to purchase and wants to purchase NOW. 

Why SEO strategy matters at each stage of the sales funnel

The top of the funnel is traditionally where SEO plays the biggest role in your marketing, and for good reason. When potential customers explore a problem or opportunity they want to solve, they’ll often start with a search engine and research the topic. But what marketers often overlook is that there’s search intent at every stage of the buyer’s journey.

When prospects are solution-aware, they’ll compare products and services to understand what they need and what’s right for them.

As prospects become product aware, they may compare your products to see which is the better solution. They’ll search for you by brand or product name.

Finally, even the most aware and most aware with high intent prospects want to make sure they’re getting the right deal. They may comparison shop by searching for the product they want. Or, they may search your site for the product to confirm and validate their choice.

At every step, organic search can help inform and influence your prospect toward making a decision.

To optimize or not to optimize…that is the question

So when is it worth giving your sales page extra SEO love? 

There are a few times when it’s worth the effort:

1. When it’s evergreen: If you have an evergreen sales page with a course that’s either always open or that has a static waitlist message, it’s probably worth optimizing the page.

2. When it appeals to all stages of awareness: Many long form sales pages are written to take readers through the entire awareness journey on one page. If that’s your page, then it’s safe to assume that problem aware and solution aware prospects can confidently move to most aware, even if it’s their first introduction to your brand. 

3. When it’s “message matched”: It’s important to consider where your prospects are coming from and what they’ll see before clicking on the page. When they come from search, consider that experience. Will your headline make sense to them? Will they see themselves in your messaging even without prior exposure to your brand or service? 

4. When your website is crushing it in SEO: If your sales page lives on your website and your website is already getting a large share of monthly traffic from organic search, it’s a good idea to optimize your page. Why? Because search engines love to reward high-value sites, which increases the likelihood that your page will be picked up in search and gain some traction. 

When to ignore SEO on your sales page

There are some times when it’s not worth optimizing your sales page for SEO. If you know you don’t want cold traffic landing on your sales page, it’s worth taking the extra step to make it unindexable, so it’s not found at all in search. That’s the best way to create a closed sales environment and maintain control over your BoFu experience.

1. When you have a niche audience in mind: Is your sales page so niche-y that a cold audience will have difficulty understanding it? Have you spent time carefully educating warm leads to your industry or your service? If so, you don’t want cold traffic landing on your sales page.

2. When you’ve hosted your sales page offsite: Most of us build controlled funnels on sites like LeadPages or ClickFunnels. These are useful for our funnels but less effective for SEO. Unless your sales page is on your website (and it’s an evergreen offer), there’s no reason to optimize pages on a third-party platform for SEO. Not only is it more difficult to get these pages ranked, but your website doesn’t get the SEO goodness from your efforts.

How to optimize your sales page for SEO

As with all SEO strategies, start with your human readers in mind and create readable, engaging content. 

And while you’re out there creating amazing sales content, follow these best practices to ensure it gets found by the right cold prospects in search: 

Follow on-page SEO best practices 

Pay attention to your metadata, URL slug, header formats, alt tags, and the other components of on-page SEO.

Use branded, BoFu keywords

If you can naturally use strategic keyword phrases, look for navigational and transactional search terms. Intentionally exclude informational phrases that may attract unaware prospects. These are the hardest to convert.

Conversions come first. Always.

Your sales page is meant to sell. Period. Optimize for conversions first. Above all else, make sure your page offers your prospects the best experience possible. Make your words count. Offer value. Reward prospects by making it worth the effort to read your content.

The SEO will follow.